Some Leftover Embers
by Aiko Isari
Summary: [AU] Ash is the scarred, abandoned child of a mafia leader. Pichu is another orphan Pokemon living under his house. And former best friend Gary Oak is waiting to fulfill an old promise. Something dangerous is brewing in underground Kanto, and Ash needs to figure out where he stands. Should he prove he's not his family's pet, or watch what he loves go up in smoke?
1. prologue: soot stains

_**A/N:**_ Well, I was going to do an anime fic eventually. This is a reboot! of the canon, with some character facets changed. First person, not sure how it happened but it's working so far. At the moment, considering where the fic is going, there are no pairings. Ash will be close to his canon self, but not entirely. This fic does not take XY (ie, Serena) into account as of yet, as I haven't been keeping up with it. I don't even think Kalos will be covered in this fic. Let's get through Kanto first.

The setting will have elements of the anime, mangas, and game verse. But that doesn't determine everything. :D

I really hope the length of the prologue isn't a sign of things to come. My hands hurt.

"Words"- are humans talking

'Words' are Pokemon talking, whether someone understands or not. Just a quick mention

At the moment, this story is **rated T**, but if enough people say otherwise, it can be booted to **M**. I warn in advance for child-unfriendly violence, swearing, things harmful to minors, character death, Pokemon abuse (possible), and alternate versions of characters.

Prepare for a wild ride. Read and review and thanks for any support!

* * *

I've always had a love-hate relationship with fire.

My name was the biggest irony, like I was just the remnants the phoenix was kicking off its wings. _Ash_, engraved on the Arcanine tags in my baby fist. Left in a soot-covered blanket on the outskirts of a pollution-free town. I was sniffed out immediately.

I don't know any of this from memory, obviously. It's just the story I was told every time I asked who I was to any available civilian old enough to remember. Of course, the whole thing is full of exaggerations and slander about how I had Absol eyes and Houndoom tail. I think I would have noticed if the tail wasn't there anymore.

Though if I had one, that would be cool. I'd be warmer at night, or something.

Anyway, like I said, fire and I are some kind of romantic dance with knives and murder.

I don't know who named me, but everyone else seems to. To be honest, the older I get, the more annoying it turns out. I don't care. My family was a bunch of bad people and bad names and bad blood. As far as most people are concerned, I'm just the same.

I only wish I knew how to prove them wrong.

* * *

**prologue**

_soot stains_

Pallet Town was one of the best places to see the stars.

There were no factories, no big smoke-making clouds to fill the air with ugly, gray puffs. The moon was always bright and cold and on nights where the temperature was the same no matter where I was, I often sat and watched it. I quickly found there wasn't much there, and usually had to make things up for the friends under my house. That was usually pretty fun.

Tonight was one of those nights, a month after the snow melted and two weeks after the weaker Berries were planted for harvesting. My hands were grimy with dirt, and they really didn't have to be. I had enough hot water to take a nice bath. I just didn't want to go down and clean up, not when it was warm enough to wear a thinner set of clothes and the moon was just so bright. So I just sat against the tiles, laying back and thinking of patterns traced with an invisible pencil. Below me, the little chittering voices that made up more space in my tiny house than I did quieted slowly as one by one, they each drifted off to sleep.

"You're going to fall and crack your head."

I sat up and looked down, having to lean my seven-year-old, skinny frame over the railing to see the speaker. "Hi Daisy," I said, smiling at the sight of one of the humans I actually liked. "It's a nice night up here."

She chuckled a little, which was a kind of laugh I always thought only the rich and the Oak family did. It sounded so _beyond_ everyone else, so much better. But that could just be because Daisy was pretty and kind.

"It's a nice night down here too," she told me, and I couldn't stop my smile from growing stupidly wide.

"It's closer to the stars up here."

"Theoretically," she countered and a part of me fell a little because I had no clue what that word meant and I knew she would never tell me. She always had me look things up myself.

It got to be a little annoying when I had to borrow Gary's library card for a dictionary all the time. Maybe that would be my Christmas gift, since last year was a gardening kit.

"What's going on, Daisy?" I finally asked because, like I said, she never just _tells _me things. She always makes me work for it. She gave a jerk of her head and I groaned, half to mess with her. Why did I have to get down? She could have told me what was going on from where I was! But I went to my open window and dropped back inside. I unconsciously smoothed my hair out of my face, mentally debating if it was worth washing my hair tonight. She was probably going to scold me about it as soon as I made it downstairs. Well, that or my distinct lack of shoes.

My birthday shoes were nice. I didn't want to ruin them from being out in the sun all day or climbing roofs.

'Ash?' I turned, seeing the russet fox head of Vince, one of the many Pokemon living in my house. The Vulpix made a mewling yawn. 'Wha's wrong?'

I rarely met a Pokemon that I couldn't try to translate, and even the drawls of sleep and talking over fangs didn't get in my way now. "Daisy's here," I said, picking at my nails before I could stop myself. "She wanted to talk to me about something."

'The eggs aren't hatched yet tho',' he mumbled, padding over to me as lightly as he dared over the weak floor. I gave him a rough pat on his messy fur. He made my hair look tidy.

"It's too late for her to be by for that, and she wouldn'a dragged me downstairs." Yeah, cause she knows I would have jumped off the roof and broken my neck. "Come on, let's see her together!"

_Together_ has always been my favorite word.

Vince yawned at me and rubbed at an eye with one paw before following me. He didn't really care either way, but he nipped at my fingers to say 'you should know better about humans.' A lot of the Pokemon here thought the same way. Sometimes I agreed with them. With the Oak family, it was always a topic we had to disagree on.

"Okay, do I look cool?" I asked her as I left the front door, reclining on the frame like I had seen her brother do. Not that Gary was an expert on cool but it looked fun.

"No," she said at once, and we laughed.

I pouted at her now, skin bubbling with impatience. "Daisy, what's the big fuss, I need to take a bath." A playful smile crossed my lips. "Did you get a new _love letter_?" I didn't know much about them, but they always made Gary mad and her face like a bright Magikarp crayon.

She rolled her eyes. "Shush! Gary might have followed me outside."

"It was," I said gleefully, toning my voice down a little to not wake the other Pokemon. "Do you need me to hide it?"

She rolled her eyes at me for a second time, which I think is a boys-only gesture because of the seven kids in Pallet, I've never seen the girls get that face, unless talking _about_ a boy. "I know how to hide a dork wooing me, Ash. No, you got a letter."

"But I don't have a mailbox," I said, feeling my face turn into that blank stare it got when I read for three hours straight instead of two-and-a-half and felt my eyes crossing. Daisy sighed, rubbing her green eyes like I had given her a headache.

"That's why I'm here to give it to you, silly." She held out the crinkled envelope for me to take. "I didn't know you knew a 'Mr. Hale'."

"I don't," I murmured, turning the envelope over. The address was written in tight symbols and I could barely make it out. _Greenfield?_ "Adults don't like me much, remember?"

"More fool, them," Daisy said in a nasally voice that sounded like her grandfather. I muffled giggling because that was _exactly_ what he would say. "Now, come on, let's go in! The paper looks fancy! Maybe you're secretly rich!"

"I could have a computer!" I joked right back, both of us knowing how unlikely that was. I didn't even have a town designation or a last name like Daisy and Gary did, at least I didn't know one, there was no way I had some missing riches somewhere. That would be cool and all, but I just wanted a new clothesline and a library card. Money for much more than that would be hard to count.

Vince nudged my leg and I, suddenly fidgeting, realized that yeah, we did have to go inside, didn't we? She'd been in there before, but never for all that long. I looked at my dirty hands and her white, loose sweater, and felt my face flush.

It wasn't like it was Pallet Town's fault. There were more old people than kids, and the richest person was trapped in research. And all of the big machines and extra Pokemon said that was _expensive_.

At least I can always buy the basics.

Daisy picked at my shirt and its threads. "I need to teach you how to sew." My blush deepened and I tried not to sputter at her, because Gary and I were sure that wasn't cool. Vince yawned again near my foot and I hurried to sit on the carpet, which I had swept an hour ago. There were, unfortunately, silver furs everywhere anyway, but she grew up with a ranch of Pokemon everywhere, so there was no reason for her to care. Daisy leaned over my head to watch me pull the envelope open.

"I feel weird holding this," I said. "Like I'm... I dunno... worth less than this paper."

Daisy made a snort, which I often compared to the oink of a Spoink. "You are not; just open it."

"You sound like Gary," I mumbled, pulling a carefully folded sheaf of papers from the envelope. "Wa-ah, more fancy writing." I unfolded it, and a piece, a photograph, dropped to the floor. I put the rest of the papers down, leaving the first one out. "Uhm... this person't handwriting is bad."

"Here, I'll try. Grandpa's writing is horrible." Daisy snatched it, which would have been annoying if it weren't for the fact that now _I _was curious. My leg began to shake as she scanned it. "Um," she paused. "Wow, Ash."

"Wha-at?" I whined. "Daisy, just read it!"

Daisy flicked my forehead (which hurt!) and cleared her throat. _"'To a boy named Ash'-"_

"Okay," I interrupted, sarcasm in my throat. "This guy already knows more about me than I do."

Daisy clicked her tongue and continued. _"'My name is Spencer Hale. It's very likely you have no idea who I am, and no idea who you are. If you have received this, you are likely on hard times, am I right?'"_

"Well, _that's_ not creepy at all."

"Hush! _'I am a researcher in the Johto region, studying into the mirage Pokemon of the world, though one of my main interests is in the mythical Pokemon known as the Unown. I'm certain, with that little tidbit of information, you're wondering what this has to do with you.'_"

I bit my tongue, hard, and focused on stroking Vince's side.

"_'I was once a student of the great Professor Oak, alongside your mother, who at this point, I'm assuming you've never met, or even seen.'_"

I opened my mouth to speak, but Daisy kicked me. I shut up, glaring at her.

"_'I am sending this letter because she is unable to care for you herself and requested my help. I wished to immediately accept this request, but before I can do so, I would like to meet with you in person. My wife will soon be giving birth to a daughter, so she cannot come with me, but she too, would like to meet with you. If that is at all possible, I have attached a paper and envelope for you to send a reply with. There are also a few photos, of myself and my wife and of myself with__ the professor and__ your mother as a young girl. I believed you would like one __picture of her__, regardless of circumstances.'_"

"_'I await your reply. Spencer Hale.'_"

We sat in silence for a few moments, until Vince yawning caused me to start, moving to pick up the photograph. The professor was instantly recognizable, messy gray hair and all. "He wasn't kidding about the premature hair thing yesterday," I said, breaking the mood. Daisy glanced at it and giggled.

"He's had to dye his hair black since dad became a trainer, he told me. Stopped trying when I was born."

"You'll look good in gray," I told her and for some reason, she blushed. Then her expression returned to normal and she picked up the letter, leaving me to turn over the photograph again. "I... that's my mom there, huh?' I traced her outline, braided red hair and plaid clothes. "Look, Daisy, she has freckles!" I tugged at my scraggly black hair. "I don't look like her at all... think he's telling the truth?"

"I don't know many adults who would use expensive paper like this in a lie to a kid, especially not since Grandpa got it first," Daisy murmured.

"You stole it off his desk, didn't you?" I said. She pouted.

"Well, it looked interesting!"

I snickered. "Not such a goodie-two-shoes, are ya Daisy?"

Daisy rolled her eyes and flicked me in the nose. I rubbed it, whining, and this caused a snuffle from the other side of my tiny home. It was more like a giant snore, followed by a really clumsy _thump_. "We're in here, Sora," I said loudly, and there was a squeak beneath my feet. I pulled up a loose floorboard (the repairman wasn't due for two more days) and out popped a green head.

"Piddo!" I greeted, picking up the squirming caterpillar. He made his usual indecipherable mumble whine and I handed him to Daisy, who proceeded to coo at the baby Caterpie like she hadn't seen him three days ago. Following that, I felt the gentle brushing of large claws against my scalp. I yelled (okay, I actually screamed like a baby) and bolted to the other side of Daisy. I had seen her flip her brother over her head before. She would keep me from-

"Sora!" I whined, crawling gingerly back over to my spot. I had the photo clenched in one hand and my cheeks hurt from embarrassment. The Absol purred, mildly amused. She was always like that, smoothing my hair, sniffing behind my ears if I didn't wash them enough.

'You need a shower, young master.'

"I know..."

"She's right, you reek," Daisy said, filling her voice with this weird scolding click. "You can't meet Mr. Hale if you smell like the mud!"

"Who says I'm gonna meet him?" I argued, glowering despite myself. I didn't know who he was! Maybe Oak did, but... but he had just come out of nowhere.

Though... if he was studying mirages, he had to be kind of cool, right?

Daisy laughed. "Oh you will. It's your shot, Ash! Maybe you can talk to him, you know..." She gestured to the photo that I uncurled from around my fingers.

I blinked, mollified. "Yeah... yeah, I could, right? But couldn't the professor tell me stuff too, now that we know who she is?"

Daisy scoffed. "Not much recent stuff! Grandpa's bad with keeping up with his pupils. They all tend to run off or drop calls and stuff. He probably doesn't even know where she is! But!" She stood, gingerly, but with a quick bounce. She _had _to teach me how she did that. Tomorrow! "It's probably old stuff, like how she was as a girl or something. Mr. Hale will know about her now, maybe where she is and what she's like and everything! Maybe even-"

"Maybe why she's not here, and why Dad's not here," I finished, showing Sora the photo. The Absol peered at it with her mild expression of curiosity, Piddo climbing to look at it from her horn.

"Exactly," Daisy said, smiling in that way that always made my heart swell with pride. We were silent for a while and I looked up at the faraway stars.

"Hey, Daisy, why do you think I was left here alone?"

It was a question I always asked the professor when the two of them weren't around. Because he was an adult, and adults should have the answer to that, but they never did. They ahd all their guesses, and everyone said them, but that was nothing real. Up until now, I had been forced to accept it.

"If you talk to Mr. Hale," she said, folding up most of the letter again. "He might know."

Now I don't have to.

"Can your grandpa send a reply?" I asked, looking at my hands and wondering if I had a pencil left on the floor somewhere to write with.

Daisy grinned. "Course, he can call and tell him. It'd be easier than trying to send a letter. I'll go tell him now! I'll let you know what's going on tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah, sure!" I said before I could stop myself. "See ya then!"

Daisy left with the letter in hand before I could hand her the photograph. I almost went with her, but now I could feel the dirt in my skin, and I really just wanted that bath now before my skin crawled off.

* * *

Hours later, I was awoken from sleep by rough paws clawing at my arms and a strange smell in my nose. I coughed and opened my eyes to orange and red and Absol fur.

'Up, young master, up!' she shouted, scratching again. 'The house is burning!'

Now my nose knew the smell and I bolted up so fast I thought I hit the ceiling. "Is everyone okay?"

'Most are out, but I can't find Piddo. Vince is trying to quench the smaller fires, but he could burn up soon.'

I coughed up smoke and nodded, moving quickly to my desk, grabbing a patched leather bag, a hand-me-down from a passing hiker. Almost everything that mattered was in here, everything but...

"Crap! The safe!" The most expensive thing I had, fireproof and with anything I thought valuable. My dog tags, my money, anything I needed to start from the ground up. "Sora... can you find the safe? I'm gonna throw this out the window and find Piddo."

I didn't wait for her answer, pitching the bag through my open window. Then I ran through the door past her and towards the back of the house. Piddo loved the back. It was always quiet and cool and there was a tree from next door that he could climb into when he got scared.

"Piddo!" I shouted, drowning out Sora's call. "Piddo!" I didn't hear the crack of the creaking old wood, or feel my feet nearly plunge through a cracking tile. I covered my nose with my shirt and breathed before shouting again. "Piddo!"

'Ash, what are ya doin'?'

Vince skidded towards me, panting for air. A little green form gasped little noises and I beamed.

"Piddo!" I coughed after the relief hit me. I suddenly could hear the house groan. "Vince, you found him!"

'Yeah, I did, now come on before you're both dead!' His voice is weak and raspy and I see the heat rolling off of his fur. I obeyed, almost managing to run, but my foot caught and I fell. Vince turned to see the noise and I saw his eyes widen. 'Ash, mo-'

I tried to see where his eyes were looking, and to move, really I did, but before I could do more than crawl up on my knees, something heavy hit me in the back and I crashed into the ground again.

That was the last thing I felt, the pain of that crash, and then nothing.

* * *

The paramedics who had pulled me out from my burning house said I was a lucky little boy. I still had the use of my arms and legs. I even could mostly see. The fact that I had burns on a lot of my body, and that the smoke had badly hurt my vision and that my lungs were weak, that one of my legs was broken to where you could see the bone and that my nerves were fried, that was a small price to pay. Even when I healed, I would have to be careful of climbing, or building, or tending to plants. My hearing would never be so great in my right ear because of where I crashed, and I was going to need rehabilitation for at least six months.

All of this was said to Professor Oak, like I was somehow stupid because I was injured. The professor, who kept looking between me and the doctor. Me, who just looked down like an idiot and hugged Piddo even though my arms were bandaged and the position was probably more painful than I knew. The doctor, who probably was really sympathetic and nice and meant well. Oak nodded and listened and wrote things down and I just sat and wondered what I was going to do.

I couldn't afford this. I couldn't afford these bandages, this room. All I had was in a black box given to every person who lived in Pallet town for a year and a big leather bag, and they contained almost nothing.

My house, creaky and warm on winter nights and with Pokemon to scamper in it, was gone.

I didn't cry, I wanted to, but that wouldn't have been fair. It was likely the professor was going to have to do a lot to help me through this. I couldn't give him my tears to take care of too. That wasn't fair.

Gary was glaring at the doctor from where he sat next to me. If it wasn't for the professor and Daisy I think he would have flown over my bed and beat the doctor up. I wanted to do it too. But, seeing as I was stuck and he was stuck, we had to settle for glaring.

His face looked kind of funny, twisted like that. But it was nice that it was for me. Not that I would ever tell him that.

The doctor left, and Oak soon after. He didn't lie and say, don't worry. But he patted what was left of my hair and told me I would someday be okay.

That was probably why I cried after he left the room.

I cried until I thought it was supposed to hurt and Gary and Daisy never left.

"You look like a girl," he told me when I could pick up a tissue.

"Am I at least a cute girl like Daisy?"

My voice was hoarse, and the joke asked for a fight, but it was funny and it was the best I could do, and it helped us all laugh a lot. Gary actually grinned, him, who only knew how to smirk about everything!

"The little guys are all in the lab," Gary said after the laughter had stopped again. "Except the dork trio, obviously. Vince is still getting the fire out of his system."

I winced, vaguely remembering the way his body had glowed during the fire. "Vince... they saved my life."

"They are your friends," interrupted the voice of an adult from the doorway. "If anyone could help another, it is a friend."

Gary tensed, and I raised my head. His lined face, forcibly straight hair, just like the photograph burned away in the fire.

"Are you Mr. Hale?" Daisy blurted out, shifting to sit near my good leg.

The smile we saw was quick, exhausted, like his eyes. "that is correct. And you're Ash, laying there like a mummy."

"He ain't in the shape to be talkin' for an interview!" Gary snapped and Daisy clamped her hand over his mouth.

I just stared. His shirt was in good condition, like his hair. He looked strong, kind of like a large cat Pokemon I had seen once in one of Gary's books. "You knew my mom?" The words slipped from my mouth like a Seel, and I blushed. I hadn't even said "Nice to meet you!'"

He didn't really seem to care. "We were decent friends. I got the height, she got the pretty smile." I couldn't contain my own grin and Mr. Hale laughed. "Exactly like that, actually."

"Was she nice?"

"If you kept her happy, sure, like everyone else." This made Daisy laugh with triumph, and the weight that had grown in my chest shrank a little.

Even so, I paused before my next question because he may not know. "Where is she now?"

His face turned like a storm cloud and my shoulders sagged. Was she dead? Gone? "She went missing about a week ago. I never got a response to the letter I sent her."

I didn't cry. Knowing that hurt a lot less than it should have. "So, why are you here? I don't have any money or anything..."

"You, Ash." Mr. Hale sat down in one of the spare chairs beside me, sober eyes and folded hands. "I'm here to meet you. What I do from here is up to you."


	2. chapter one: green seeds

_**A/N:** _sorry that this took so long. The scenes weren't quite wanting to be written and I had all of my wisdom teeth pulled a few days ago. The painkillers do a number on progress. Anyway, this chapter is nice and longer than the prologue. Also, I apologize for the whiplash, but I have gone back to third-person perspective. I hope that isn't a problem for ya'll, cause I'm gonna stick with it.

I'm thankful to all of you who have faved and followed, but a shoutout goes to **werewolfgirl3** for making some important points for me to think about as the story goes on. I don't think I managed to get all of her concerns answered or recognized because of the major timeskip in this chapter (and just how much went in here), but I'm on the road to explaining to my new reviewer, I have your review in my email! Don't worry about that.

Yeah, guys, there is currently a review glitch on the site, among other things. Please, if you're going to review, which I hope you do, as I really want to know what you think, please make sure to save your reviews in case they don't show up when (if) the glitch is fixed and, if it's not too much trouble, post them as a guest if they don't show up on the review page.

Also, as you can tell, these updates take a while, so please keep this story on your alerts if you're following, as the site's alerts are funky, but it's trying, at least. I know, I'm trying. Hehe. I will be putting teams down soon, but since we're not in the 'journey' right now, I don't know if I need to just yet.

Anyway, here I babble too much. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

* * *

**chapter one**

_green seeds_

On the morning of his fourteenth birthday, Ash, formerly of Pallet Town, was woken up by the energetic leaping of a small child onto the side of his bed.

She was lucky he didn't hit the ceiling. Kid bounced like an Azurill.

"Mols," Ash groaned, squinting his eyes open. "The train's not until one... lemme wake up slow, kay..."

"You can't!" Molly Hale, six-years-(and some months, she proudly proclaimed to any adult who asked) old and with a tendency to get dead-set on whatever it was she was thinking about, declared. "It takes you forever to get ready and I want to battle!" She would have stomped her foot, but the last time she had done that, she had stepped on a red tail and nearly lost said foot to a lot of pain.

Ash groaned again, this one with more fond exasperation than Arceus directed irritation. "Fine, fine, I'll move. Seriously... silly kid."

There was a grumble from the other side of the bed. "'M not silly."

Ash laughed. "All kids are silly, Mols, especially you and me." He moved to slowly sit himself up on the bed, throwing his covers near his feet. He winced in pain at the cracking noises from his shoulders and began to stretch, slow, careful rolls.

Molly hopped onto the oversized bed beside him and watched, half-eager, half-antsy, proven by the way her whole body twitched like she had Durants in her pants. He massaged his legs in slow, careful circles, rubbing around and over each faded burn. It was slow, tedious work, but if there was anything Ash had learned from growing Berries and mobility therapy, it was _patience._

He couldn't have said that at ten, and definitely not before the fire.

Being raised up in Pallet Town for his early years, (he had no clue where he was actually born, and neither did anyone else that he could find or ask), Ash had grown up under the guardianship of the famous Professor Oak, and the somewhat nurturing environment of Pallet Town's citizens. Legally, it had been a conundrum, emotionally and physically, confusing. Pallet was an elder's town, the children there for only as long as they had to be if they were there at all. For Ash, that made a life of things learned for his own sake. If he wanted something that the adults could get, he had to earn it, if he needed something he could make himself, he had to make it. If he wanted help, he would have to ask. No one could read your mind.

And until the fire, he, like the other children, had been able to do it.

When you have your house collapsed and burning on top of you, however, that tends to open an entirely different can of worms.

Not that it was their fault, he hoped.

"Can I do the other one?" Molly wasn't jittery now, but she was staring at his still left leg, impatiently tapping her knee against the sheets. Ash paused and moved one hand to muss her hair. She pouted and pushed his hand away, probably having an internal fit about the state of her hair, which the maid had probably spent a good hour brushing because of the unruly back of her strawberry-blonde head. He had to not laugh. She would get messy when they 'battled' anyway. But Molly was always a little fussy about appearances.

"Sure," he finally said, when he was certain she was about to jump out of her skin. Not that he could see this too well, but he knew Molly's body language well-enough by now. "Could you get my drops and stuff first?" She leaned over to his bedside table before he could finish his sentence, waiting until he began to bend his knee up before handing him the drops and contacts. Finishing one leg, he let her come forward and massage the other while he put in the drops. To be honest, she wasn't as good as she wanted to be, but Molly tried her best.

All things considered, she was a good adoptive little sister.

He blinked at the drops, reaching for his contacts with watery eyes. God, these things were worse than the lenses. Two tries later, he could see clearly again and began to swing himself off of the bed. Molly hopped off the bed, walking to the other side as Ash stretched his arms. She went to the wall and moved the black walking stick from where Ash had left it the night before, handing it to him. He grinned at her and pushed himself to his feet. "Ya eat yet?"

Molly nodded, but her stomach growled, causing two snuffles of laughter to erupt from the other side of the room. Ash grinned, watching her face flush. "Hey, I'm hungry too. Lemme get dressed."

Molly's eyes narrowed. "How do I know you're not gonna fall asleep again?"

He scratched his head, walking slowly towards his closet. "Um, well I'm moving?"

She huffed, and crossed her arms, looking a lot like the mother she would only know from pictures. "If you fall asleep again, Vince should scratch you in the face!"

"And ruin these awesome cheekbones," Ash exclaimed, drawing back in mock-fear. "No thanks!"

She rolled her eyes, not understanding the joke but going with it anyway. "Well, you'd better stay awake then! I wanna fight!" She sped the room and Ash mussed his messy black hair.

"She wants a battle," he said to the Pokemon in the room. "But not as much as pancakes. Priorities. I love them."

Then again, pancakes were just awesome.

He went and sat back down, pulling on the loose jeans he had left at the foot of his bed. There was another snuffle, this more of a yawn than anything else. Vince stretched and stood, shaking his stiff paws and yawning again. He barked a lazy greeting and leaped into the closet, dragging other clothing out for Ash to take from his mouth. Ash held the fabric between his finger and thumb and sighed. "This is still weird."

Even after seven years of living in Greenfield, expensive _anything_ still made him wish he had coins to count.

Vince threw the shirt and jacket over, mumbling something about him whining too much and probably something about eating Furrets too. Ash, now that he had some kind of idea of Vince's actual words, had quickly learned to just tune it out. It was easier than trying to cheer up the little guy.

Another whine followed as Sora wandered to his side. He toyed with the bandanna around her neck, tightening it and making sure the white cross over blue fabric was visible. Ash rubbed his eyes and Sora nudged his fingers, licking them gently. He patted her white head.

"'M fine," he said, smiling. "I'm sorry you can't battle much now." Sora let out a crooning yip, rubbing her face against the palm of his right hand, indicating she didn't care. She was here to take care of him, be it as a mobility assistant or a caretaker, or anything else. That was what she told him, anyway. Ash curled his left hand around his walking stick and rose to his feet again. "All right!" he shouted, making Vince peek open his closing eyes. "Let's go eat and run our muscles. Then it's off to the train station!" He practically jogged out of the room, walking stick swinging with his legs.

Sora let out a sigh and padded after him, grabbing Vince by the scruff of his neck as she walked.

_Idiot human,_ Vince muttered. Sora grunted through his fur in agreement.

_Our idiot human now._

–

There was a whistle from the kettle and Professor Oak looked up slowly before going back to the key ring floating by his face. "Klefki..." It chimed its keys at him, looking pointedly at the kettle before a young woman went over and turned off the heat. Daisy sent her grandfather an amused but irritated look, her Cleffa bouncing about her feet.

"Grandpa, stop toying with the trainer Pokemon." Klefki jangled at him in agreement, floating away at the sight of the man's crestfallen, but sheepish expression. "We have to leave in a few hours."

"There's still time," the man protested as he took his tea mug from her. Blowing on it, he laughed. "I know you two miss him, but time doesn't change while you're watching it."

Daisy sighed, picking up her Cleffa and rubbing his head. "Even so..." She gave her grandfather a meaningful look. "I know how you get when you get absorbed into something." She sipped her tea. "Gary's out at the corral. Should I get him? It takes a while to get to Saffron as it is, even with the shortcuts and we're out of tea."

"You've grown up to be such a worrywart, Daisy," her grandfather lamented with a small smile on his face. "What am I going to do without you?"

"Hire an actual assistant?" she quipped despite herself. The professor only laughed again and busied himself with setting up a few programs. "Grand-pa~"

"Relax, they're just computer scans and backups." He stretched and rose from his rolling chair. "We'll be gone a while, might as well get the routine checks done while we're gone. Pokedexes do take time after all."

Daisy sighed and gave up. Her grandfather really was a workaholic. No wonder Gary got so ridiculous sometimes. "Yes, that's true," she agreed and went to grab her bag. "I'm going to go on ahead, in case there are any lines at the Department Store."

Professor Oak almost protested, worry outweighing the knowledge that she would leave soon as it was. Then he stopped himself and smiled. "All right, we'll meet you there. Don't Pokemon hunt and stick to the safe roads."

She called an agreement, rolling her eyes. Then a Pokeball went flying towards her head and she caught it, examining the leaf engraved into the ball. Her grandfather winked.

"I can't just send out my grandchildren with babies, can I?" He pocketed one in the pocket of his laptop. "I'll give Ash his when we get back. The little one needs some final check-ups."

Daisy paused in tightening her bike helmet. "You're giving Gary a Charmander?"

"Your brother needs a challenge, Daisy," Oak said, spinning the final starter's ball on his finger. "Like your father, like me, like my father, like you. Our family doesn't prosper without a challenge. Better to deflate his head before it grows into a balloon and floats away."

Daisy bit her lip and nodded. It was true. Oaks were revered in Pallet Town for their ability to overcome adversity, and by default, training and raising a Charmander wasn't easy, no matter how obedient they became. She looked at the ball in her hand, thinking of the Bulbasaur in it. Her challenge was entirely different. "I hope it doesn't get him killed."

"It's not as though I'm giving him a Deino," the professor pointed out.

Daisy winced. "Never been so happy for a species to not be migrating," she muttered and placed Cleffa in the basket.

"The Safari Zone warden is looking into bringing more rare Pokemon in."

Daisy finished tying her shoes and huffed. "Well, if he really thinks he's going to get a permit for baby, blind, constantly ravenous dragons in a supposedly safe safari, I welcome him to it. Good luck, grandpa." She went to her bike, left tied on the inside of the Oak Lab fence, and pedaled off.

He watched her for a moment more before heading to the back of his lab. He looked at his grandson's starter one more time, and took a deep breath. It was just a Charmander. Kids fought using them all of the time.

But the legal traveling age had been raised region-wide for a very good reason. And if Gary wasn't up to the rite of passage, let alone the other two...

He didn't want to bury any more family before their time.

–

Ash drummed his fingers on the keyboard of the small laptop and sighed. "Pro_fess_or," he whined to the unresponsive video call. "I need to know about the permits!" He had no clue where any of this was going after he got to Saffron. Was he starting in Saffron? Not that that was a great idea, mind you. The Gym Leader had apparently broken down the Magnet Train system by accident once. He needed to get so many forms resubmitted and it was easier to just do it all in Pallet because the system was a city away.

He whined again, mumbling obscenities under his breath as he played with the call settings. In his lap, a yellow and brown egg trembled, and he patted it absently. "Don't worry, lil' guy," he said softly. "We'll take good care of ya. You're one of us now." Left under the floorboards of one of the older parts of the Hale mansion a few weeks ago, Ash had decided to carry it with him wherever he went, mostly because it was cool (he hadn't seen an egg since Piddo) and the rest because he wanted an egg.

Ash gave another nervous hum again and then turned off the laptop, giving up. He would try one more time before he left. _I know the Professor gets too into his work, but Daisy and Gary usually would have pulled his chair away by now..._

He shrugged and stood up again, taking his walking stick in one hand and the egg in the other. It shook a little and Ash had to ignore it at the sound of Molly shouting. He had let Vince go at it himself, he didn't really need Ash right now. Ash wondered if the little guy ever really did, but he never gave off the vibe he didn't want to be around them. So Ash kept hope alive.

"Watch out, Piddo! Dodge down! Down!"

Piddo ducked in the air to avoid a green flying orb, but didn't manage to dodge the flying tackle Vince made towards him. The Butterfree squeaked and hit the ground. Ash muffled a laugh and went to stand on the other side of the battle. Idly, his eyes caught a glimpse of the large yard and building surrounding him and he grimaced. God, he felt small in Greenfield.

"C'mon, Piddo!" Molly cried, small fists waving in the air in frustration. "Throw him off!" Piddo squeaked and struggled to flap his wings. Ash waited, watching Molly struggle, foot tapping on the dirt like it would make a hole in the ground. He could see a couple of ways to do it, but...

"Vince!" he called. "Jump, fire!"

The Vulpix mewed his amusement, pushing off of the Butterfree's smaller body and rolled up, releasing tiny fireballs from his mouth.

Molly yelped. "Gust!"

Piddo managed to right himself, flapping translucent wings and whipping up the wind. Ash winced. He had shown her that tactic once, and even though it was sending Vince spinning...

"Piddo!"

The Butterfree fluttered to the ground as the flames picked up in the wind, wings singed. Vince dropped to the ground with a yelp. Molly whimpered and ran over to Piddo, looking crestfallen.

"But it worked _before_," she shouted when she was sure Piddo could still fly. Ash laughed a little, moving to join them. Vince trotted by his side, albeit slower, as the fall had probably really freaking _hurt_! "When you showed me, the flames got weaker before!" Molly's face was set in a small pout, blue eyes glowing with hurt.

Ash scratched his head. "Yeah, but that's because when I showed you, Vince had to hold back. If Piddo were stronger, his wind might have been able to put out the fires. But Vince is older and stronger than Piddo, so he knows how much power to use."

Vince preened.

Molly huffed and turned away. "If it wasn't _fire_, Piddo and I coulda won."

"Battling's a tricky thing, Mols," Ash said, mussing her hair. "It's luck and strategy and strength and-"

"Teamwork, you've said it a _bajillion _times!" Molly scrunched at the fabric of her blue dress. "I just... I don't wanna lose."

"No one really _likes_ losing, Molly," commented a voice from the edge of the expansive yard.

Molly turned, pout turning to face-eating grin so fast Ash wondered if mouths could have whiplash, and charged forward like a bullet out of a gun. "Papa!"

Spencer, as Ash thought of him, grunted at the sudden weight of his daughter on his chest, and almost fell over. His assistant moved to support him, but Spencer caught himself and managed to spin the girl around him like they were a Hitmontop. Ash snickered at their antics. He was glad he had managed to avoid that display of affection.

"Hey, Spencer," he greeted, adjusting the egg under his arm. Vince pawed at it. "It time to go?"

"Your bag's in the backseat," he said with a small smile, setting Molly down. Ash winced as her hand gripped the side of his green, pressed shirt. Spencer seemed to notice as well, as he added. "Are you sure you want to do this? You have a good eye for analysis, but..."

Ash sighed. "I promised Gary," he said, whistling for Sora. He felt his body starting to ache a little. She went over and let him place the egg in its incubator on her back. "If he's gonna take the journey, I'm gonna take it too. This-" He gestured to himself. "Doesn't mean I can't do anything."

Spencer's smile was faint, but, if anything, Molly's expression turned mulish. Ash sighed and Vince went over to place his paw on Molly's stomach. She drew back, and he snickered at her.

"It's gonna be okay," Ash said and Molly's expression darkened further, like a storm cloud ready to burst.

"You're not going to be _here_," she said, digging the heel of her shoe into the ground. "Not you, not Papa, no one's going to be around to play or teach me or anything! That's not gonna be okay!"

Ash winced and glanced helplessly at Spencer. He wasn't a parent. Just because he had been around since before Molly was born, it didn't mean he suddenly figured out being an adult. His fingers caught hold of his walking stick and he stroked its head with unconscious nervousness. "Piddo and the servants will be here," he said, testing his words like he tested soup broth. "Your Dad will come home as often as possible. And I'll be making sure to call every week."

The girl tugged at her bow and looked down at her feet. "You're not going to be here," she repeated, and this time the words were more defeated than angry. The unspoken words remained at his tongue, and he changed his sentence before he could say it. Molly didn't need that reminder too."It's not gonna be the same."

"Things can't stay the same," Spencer began, and Ash took that as his cue to step back and let the adult handle it. He nudged Vince, who had decided the tense situation was a great time to take a nap. Vince yawned and trotted ahead of Sora, who waited by Ash's feet. Ash watched the egg a moment more before giving Molly a gentle hug and letting Spencer take care of things. He waved to where Piddo was shyly fluttering by a tree and made his way towards the car.

Spencer's assistant, Schuyler, made an apologetic noise. "Happy birthday, huh?"

Ash laughed, settling into the back seat. "Guess so. She doesn't mean it." Sora made an affronted noise from where she lay on the other side. Vince was curled by the incubated egg.

"She's a kid, she means it right now."

Ash sighed at Schuyler's comment. "Guess so... but with her mom gone... I guess she doesn't know what to do."

"She'll understand when she's older."

Ash looked out the window and closed his eyes. "I hate when adults tell me that."

"So did I. Why do you think I'm hunting Legendaries for a living?"

–

Feeling her bag bounce against her side, Maisy yanked twigs out of her hair, grumbling. "Ilex is getting worse, not better, right Teddy?" Her Teddiursa scratched at the lunar mark on her forehead, shrugging little shoulders. "Well, you're always cutting down the thorns so you must think it's fine..." She stuck her tongue out at the little Pokemon, who returned the favor without missing a beat. "Come on, let's get to the train! Dad's gonna be mad if we're late..." _Not that he's not always mad..._

Teddy pawed at the wicker basket in her hands and she slapped him off. "Don't be a dummy, there's no Honey in here." Teddy pouted and Maisy rolled her eyes. "Grumpig," she said without any malice, before checking her watch. Thirty minutes until the next train. "Come on, Teddy!" Making sure the basket was shut, she ran further down the streets of Goldenrod, dodging pedestrians with their Pokegears at their ear and spinning away from a man with an overly excitable Voltorb. Teddy growled something that was probably rude (the Voltorb had started sparking at him mid growl) and Maisy hurried to yank his paw away. She didn't have time to stop at a Pokemon Center _and_ make it to the train in time.

As she reached the station, the crowd began to thin. Her face was flushed red from the run and at this point, the girl was gripping her Pokemon's paw hard enough to yank it off.

"Hey, kid, where do you think you're going?"

She ignored the speaker, pulling out her ticket and hurrying up to the inspector. "Sorry... sir..." she huffed. The man tipped his hat, hiding a smile beneath one gloved hand.

"Haven't seen you off this way by yourself before Maisy? Mister Kurt getting' too old?"

"Sprained his back," she said, bringing her basket to rest in front of her. "Told him it wasn't worth Dad getting mad when I could walk the forest myself!"

He chuckled at her, scanning the card. "Well, you certainly did make it, though your hair looks like you took half of the forest with you." Maisy flushed, almost wanting to rip the thorns out that were probably making new trees inside of her brain and-

Okay, she needed to relax her overactive imagination just a tad.

The ticket inspector returned her card. "Say hi to your dad for me, all right?"

"Sure!" She knew her father likely wouldn't care who he was or that he had even said anything but it was the thought that counted. The thought... and the signed permission forms!

Time off of career school, age exemption pass, application for the second Pokemon, Pokedex identification... She mentally blanked just thinking of all the forms kids had to fill out (or their parents had to fill out, hah!) just to be able to go outside of their town and tackle the league circuit. In her grandpa's time, you either had a parent catch it for you, or you caught a Pokemon with your bare hands and some hunting tools. Then, you were on your own.

Maisy touched the scars hidden under her hair.

She supposed both systems had their flaws.

"Ur! Ur!" Maisy turned at the noise, picking her Teddiursa up from where he was wiggling to get up the stairs.

"Grum-pig!" she scolded, laughing. He blew a Razz Berry at her, picking up the basket and running through the train. Maisy didn't catch herself until someone shouted in surprise, at which point she hoisted her tiny bag back onto her shoulders and raced after him.

"I swear, I should have used a Friend Ball to catch him..." She murmured apologies to people rushing into the carriages, making her way to the sound of high-pitched, squeaking growls by a nearly empty corridor. Teddy was backed against another carriage door, Apricorn Pokeballs spilled on the carriage floor. His black eyes were large and wobbling and Maisy looked to see a red fox snarling protectively from the other side of an open door. Its hackles were up and its body glowed a faint orange. The amber eyes burned with rage and a fireball was beginning to form in its mouth.

"Hey, wai-" Maisy went to run in the way, only mentally thinking of how stupid of a decision that was after she was in the way. Thankfully, a pair of tan hands pulled the fox back, forcing the Pokemon to swallow the fire before it went flying into the ceiling. The Vulpix squeaked and pouted and a young man's face peeked through the open door, expression sheepish. "Hey, sorry about that, Vince is... territorial... I guess?"

His voice made her relax, up until she felt the train lurch to begin leaving the station, at which point she almost fell over in her attempt to get over to her Pokemon. The boy blinked and a white blur moved past him, lifting her up easily by the back of her shirt so she could stand again. The red eyes blinked at her like a concerned Noctowl's and she smiled by reflex. Maisy took a few wobbly steps, but once she was sure she could move and the train didn't randomly decide to lurch in another direction, she ran to her Teddiursa's side. The Pokemon was slumped against the empty carriage door, bawling from fear. The Vulpix swished its tails, scoffing until the young man gently thwapped it on the head. Maisy went to wipe her Pokemon's eyes, sighing and pulling the Level Ball out to return him.

"He's a crybaby when he doesn't get the first hit," she said. "Sorry, did he hit your door?"

The boy grinned. "Yeah, but he was so disoriented, I'm surprised he didn't hurt himself. "I'm Ash, by the way, want to join me?" He was back in his seat, back carefully reclined against the cushioned seats.

"Maisy," she said, nodding without thought. She usually spent the trip by herself, watching the scenery and doodling. "Just let me pick up these first."

Ash watched her deftly pick up a few. "Apricorns?"

"Yeah," She tossed him a Friend Ball, throwing a few more into the basket. The white Pokemon swept a few over with their nose and paws, smiling a little at her. "Is this an Absol?" She had never seen an Absol with that sort of bandanna before. Then again, all she had seen of them were books anyway. "Aren't they-"

"Doom-bringers?" Ash laughed. "They've got that reputation, but it's more that they're warning people. Sora's my mobility assistance Pokemon. She's supposed to protect me when I'm in danger, predict and help me avoid obstacles in my path, help me move, obviously, and carry me to safety, should I need it. That's what the bandanna means."

Maisy closed her basket and went inside slowly, now feeling the red eyes on her back as she went inside. She shut the door when the Pokemon were inside, sitting on the familiar cushion to watch the scenery rush by. "Aren't they supposed to be," she paused, puzzled. "Smaller?"

"Can't go on a trainer journey with something smaller," he said gravely, playing with his slightly oversized red and black hat. "Yep, I'm crazy, I know." His fingers twitched and she saw a walking stick leaned against the window. Vince made a little noise in his throat that Ash glowered at him for and Maisy shrugged.

"Nah, it's what you want to do."

Ash grinned even wider than before. "And that's not crazy?"

Maisy swung her legs back and forth. "Well, I'm doing the same thing, and I _don't _have an Absol to save me."

The two of them laughed. "is that a request to go on an adventure?"

Maisy pondered this. She was used to being alone, or around adults. "Yeah," she said after a few moments. "I think it is." She paused again. "If my dad will sign the dumb forms, anyway."

"If he doesn't, you'll come with me anyway." His voice sounded almost cocky and Maisy laughed.

"You sound like Grandpa Kurt. 'Do what you want, and everyone else will pick their sides. If they pick the right one, you'll get farther.'"

"You're related to _Kurt_?" Ash whistled. "No wonder you're fleeing towards a journey."

Maisy winced. The April family wasn't exactly known for its peaceful family relationships. Ash saw her expression and raised her hands. "Hey, it's not my business, sorry. It's not like no one lacks a skeleton in their closet."

She nodded and smiled a little, settling back to look at the rapidly passing trees. He took her hint and fell quiet, brushing Sora's head with a stray hand. Vince leaped to her lap and curled up there, decorating her black skirt with thin red and orange furs. Ash shrugged at her, and she gave up on worrying about it.

An hour passed peacefully like this. Then Ash's Absol let out a cry and reached up with her giant paws to pull them both to the floor. Ash grabbed something from where it was sitting near his feet, along with his walking stick and Maisy gripped her Teddiursa's ball and her bag for dear life.

The air was silent, and Sora cried mournfully again as a moment passed.

More silence, and Maisy almost lifted her head from the floor.

Then there was a loud crash, and they all felt the train carriages careen to the right, off of the tracks and towards the trees below.


	3. chapter two: crushed leaves

_**A/N:**_ I apologize for the uber delay on this. I've been busy and this one's been written letter by agonizing letter. I think it's come out well, in retrospect. I have not responded to every reviewer or to all of the favs and follows. Thank you so much for them. I love them and look forward to every word, even the critical ones. That all said, I think I should add; this is not an episodic follow of the anime. My Pokemon fics will probably use the story of the source material as a loose base, but that' about it. All of that said, please enjoy, and tell me how you feel and what you think! Hopefully the next update will take less time! Catch you later!

* * *

**chapter two**

_crushed leaves_

Daisy stopped pedaling her bike with reluctance at the site of the bumpy road inside of Diglett's Cave. She sighed. "Stick to the safe roads," she muttered. "Ri-ight." She knelt and folded up the bicycle, putting it in her bag. Cleffa frowned at her but bounced ahead anyway. She put a finger to her lips and reached to stop it. Even though this wasn't migration season, the Diglett tended to be more sensitive to sound waves than Whismur. From all of the construction over the past few years. She picked up her Cleffa and squeezed her partner until they almost squeaked at her.

Her steps were slow, so as to not disturb the low rumbling beneath her feet of snoring ground moles. Daisy touched the walls experimentally with one hand, wishing she had bothered to teach her Cleffa _Flash_ to get through this cave a little faster but even the bullet train took at least half a day to get to Saffron on a good day. Going as fast as it normally did during a thunderstorm was equivalent to dropping a lawsuit draft on your defense attorney's desk with fill-in-the-blank spots for your name and personal information already written in cursive.

So that gave her some time to make it to the Vermillion bus station... hopefully.

Daisy glanced behind her and forward once more, feeling Cleffa snuggle more comfortably into the crook of her elbow. Taking cautious steps forward, Daisy nearly rounded a corner-

And promptly pulled herself back again. Gravel fell from where she had walked but it didn't seem anyone had heard, or at least taken it too seriously. She remained still, covering her mouth and returning Cleffa as quietly as she dared.

Though their exact features were hard to see in the gloom, the black beret was unmistakable, the red threaded 'R' displayed from the glow of low-power flashlights.

_Rocket Gang_.

Pallet saw very little of them, having no rarities worth filching, few sightings of anything valuable but strong, hardy trainers and those were nothing they wanted. Those kind of people thought too much. Everywhere else, however... lootings, murder, an attack on the Safari Zone, they were well known in Kanto for plenty worse than all of that.

She would have thought even the Rockets would know better than to set up a hideout in this cave.

Guessing by their appearance, the group was made up of males. The females didn't dawdle in a cave, or dawdle in general. Even they weren't safe from wandering creeps. One was tapping his foot, leaning against a wall. Two were whispering to one another, though their whispers might as well have been shouts in this cave. Could they not know, or just not care?

Knowing them, it was likely the latter. So now what?

She adjusted her position, pulling the new Pokeball from her pocket and enlarging it. Daisy knew enough basic battling that if she did want to, she could catch the few people off-guard with a ranged attack and then maybe make it out of here. She had to risk her Bulbasaur knew the one she was thinking of or she'd pay for it.

She prepared to step forward, throw the ball, but a hand gently caught her wrist.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you."

Daisy almost whipped around and smacked her head into the wall. The hand kept her still, however, and she squirmed as it was pulled behind her back, trying to force her thumb towards the Pokeball. The other tightened their grip and Daisy let go of the ball, letting it clack to the ground. To this, the other grunts turned. Hearing the sound of their footsteps, she grabbed Cleffa's ball with her freed hand and clicked it open. The star-shaped Pokemon burst out and as the Rockets rounded the corner, Daisy let out a shout:

"Magical Leaf!"

Daisy barely had any time to register the surprise on the men's faces before she kicked behind her at the opponent's shin -_thinner, taut muscle, female_- and pull away. Without thinking, she kicked the ball on the ground to pop open against the cave wall.

Cleffa's pink and shining leaves had struck the men in the chest and their heads (or eyes specifically, she couldn't be sure) and the group was trying to rise, dazed and bleeding. The woman moved to jab an elbow into her back, and Cleffa leaped to pound the woman in the back of her neck. Her movements faltered and Daisy broke away, kneeling to grab her other Pokeball and move forward. She saw the men striding forward and clapped her hands over her ears. "Sing!"

As the ground beneath her began to rumble from the rousing Diglett, Cleffa leaped above her head and began to sing, a low, warbling tune that echoed across the walls.

Only when she heard multiple solid thumps against the ground did Daisy pick up the ball and rise to her feet. Returning Cleffa, fear of the Diglett forgotten, she pulled out her bicycle and began to pedal. Daisy's bag bounced against her back and she didn't care, hurrying out. She had to get to Vermillion, had to get to the authorities... to a phone.

She pedaled, eyes watering. If there were Rocket agents this close to a gym city, how bad was it everywhere else?

_Grandfather... Gary... be careful!_

She hoped someone made it to Ash before they might consider happening on him like a ripe apple on a tree.

* * *

In the past, Ash remembered being swaddled in bandages like they were blankets, stuck in the hospital room, unable to leave even now. The pain was numbed for the second time that day, so he was able to sit up and listen to the professor's quiet, but firm lecture on Pokemon.

Or more specifically, why abusing them or taking them for granted was the stupidest idea on the planet and that those people had a death wish.

It was an old lecture, they each heard it once a year, but it was important. It was _necessary_.

"You will hear a lot of things in the outside world," Oak said, his genial voice now as stern as the unforgiving hospital bill. "How Pokemon are amazing, mystical creatures, how they are pets and friends and partners and them being in your Pokeball is a sign of respect. All of these things are the truth, in one way or another."

"However, the technical term... is pocket _monsters_." He held up a Monster Ball for them to see. "From the ancient Apricorn Balls to the mass factory production line, these all hold a secret that tames the beasts within. However, no matter how friendly a Pokemon can become, no matter how much it loves you and you nurture it, no matter how young and innocent and adorable it may appear... it is still a monster, and to anger it, when you are little more than an ant in comparison... to abuse it when you have been entrusted with its care and its loyalty, is a mistake that will always come back to bite you. This ball," He tossed it up and down. "may limit the amount of harm that can come to you from your own partners, but they can still strike, and still abandon you and still cause you great agony that could lead to death."

Ash watched Gary and Daisy's faces, and though Gary usually turned up his nose at a lot of his grandfather's lectures, these he listened to furiously, anger twitching up his hands and nails. And making Daisy have to pinch his ear so he didn't lash out on the first thing in front of him, mainly their grandfather.

The older man took a deep breath. "I'm telling you this, over and over, not so you are completely afraid to journey, or cynical to, but so you are aware. Outside, the world is full of terrifying enemies, and some of them may be human, so I am trusting you to make some powerful friends... and to gain your own strength. Because if a Pokemon or harm comes to you, unprovoked... it's best not to be alone, isn't it? People and Pokemon must respect each other, just as people and people must. Otherwise, there will be nothing left of anyone or anything..."

As Ash drew himself from unconsciousness, this lecture in particular drifted in and out of his mind, and he clung to it to pull himself into focus once again. "Ow..." he finally managed to groan, slowly trying to flex his arms and legs. A sharp pain in his left arm caused him to go still, opening his eyes.

The first thing that he noticed was that the train was not in the right direction anymore. The window was at his feet, and the other seat was dangling uselessly from the ceiling. A shard of glass was cracked from the window, and blood from his arm dripped down it in tiny droplets. Ash cast his gaze towards the rest of the shattered compartment.

From near his foot, Vince slowly uncurled from his spot around the egg incubator, which Ash must have been flung off of. The Pokemon grimaced and whined his discomfort, shooting little smoke puffs from his nose. Against the side of the floor, Sora wriggled down to all fours once more, freeing Maisy to breathe fresh lungfuls of air. Her clothes were a mess, and there was a bruise swelling on her right cheek, but Sora had covered her from the worst of it. Ash sighed and began to slowly shift to where he could pull himself up. His body protested, but he kindly told it to shut up and take a number, managing to lean against the upside down side of the compartment.

"Any idea what happened?" He remembered something... _knocking _the train off of the rail- "Okay, how in the heck are we not dead?" Ash thankfully had mastered the art of the _not-swear, _in accordance with the rule of keep Molly as, maybe not sweet and innocent because she was a bit of a spoiled egg, but as a _polite_, spoiled egg. And Maisy was closer to his age than the squirt, but was still, well, little, by his standards.

Maisy shook her head, rubbing the bruise and reaching to grabbed the scattered Apricorn Balls. A few were broken beyond repair but she still gathered the shards into the basket. Somehow, it had survived the fall. Ash watched her with one eye, then gestured for Vince.

"Can you burn a hole through where the door is?" he asked. "I'd rather us not break the window if we didn't have to." Vince grunted an affirmative and sat on his haunches, beginning to breathe out a small stream of flame towards the metal.

Maisy squinted at the ceiling. "Are you sure this is safe?"

Ash grinned. "No, but it's better than us breaking the floor. I can't move too well like this and going through the wheel and stuff will take longer. Plus if we're somewhere near the tracks..."

Maisy winced. There was always the chance of that third rail being on. She peered through the rest of the window, seeing green and brown and grey. "Well... I think I see a tree... and the ground... and... some other stuff."

"Can you guess how high up we are?"

The girl squinted, pulling on her sweater. "Mm... not really. It looks kinda far though."

Ash hissed through his teeth. "Great. All right, how strong's your Teddiursa?"

Vince made a noise that was rather like a harrumph, continuing to exhale flames. Maisy raised an eyebrow, then fidgeted. "Just over legal testing limits, has Take Down from wild breeding, did TM practice, nothing too big. I've had him for three years."

"So you could squeak out a beginner level Badge if you tried," Ash surmised and Maisy nodded. "All righty... Sora's gonna switch with Vince in a sec, and I want you to try and let him out outside there, so he can try and beat the rest of it so we can get out."

"Couldn't that dislodge the train from wherever we are?" Maisy asked and Sora moved where Vince had been. Her horn began to glow and Maisy unconsciously edged back.

Ash shrugged. "We don't have much to lose, if we don't."

True that. They needed to get out of here. Maisy clung to the side of the fallen car as Sora swung, creating an arc of light to crash into the metal. She repeated this twice more, the third time actually making the carriage shake from the impact, before jerking her head at Maisy. Seconds after, Teddiursa's ball went flying through the small gap and Teddy popped out, the ball falling back into Maisy's outstretched hands.

"Teddy!" she shouted. "Brick Break the metal! We need to get out of here."

Teddiursa squeaked, puzzled, then saw Vince glaring up at him from where he was on the upended seat, fangs bared. With a yelp, the bear cub jumped into the air and smashed his fist into the metal below. The carriage trembled and Maisy winced. "Keep it up Teddy! We'll be fine."

"You know, intimidation isn't the best way to get stuff done," Ash muttered at Vince, having found his walking stick and was using it to push himself up against the headboard of the seats. Vince grinned at him, shamelessly proud of himself. Ash sighed before wincing and clinging to the armrest as the carriage shook again. This time, he did return Vince, keeping his tight grip on the egg. Knowing the incubator, it would be hard to break, but he didn't want to take any chances.

A third blow and the carriage made a noise like a foot slamming into a soda can. It creaked for a second time and Maisy returned Teddiursa again, starting to shake.

"This... this didn't work, huh?" Ash said dumbly. Maisy tried to glare at him as there was a loud creaking sound, only succeeding in stopping her knees from wobbling. "Plan B," he decided, pulling away from the window. "Sora, grab Maisy." Sora threw the smaller child onto her back with her teeth and let Ash clamber on behind her. He handed Maisy the incubator to hold to her chest, wincing in pain. "Hold on, this is going to take a lot of dumb luck."

Maisy wanted to hit him, but clung instead to Sora's fur as the Pokemon crouched, She swung, and the glass cracked, pushed down with their weight. She swung and swung and the glass continued to crack as the metal bent, then split further, widening the gap.

"Ram it!"

Ash's order was met with a single, harsh howl and the rush of the wind, as with one bound, Sora lifted them up and out, landing on top of the carriage. It shook again, but didn't fall. There was a soft splintering sound, and one of the large tree branches sank, but that was all. Ash took a second to glance around them. He could barely make out the silver of the other carriages in the distance, and saw smoke rising from one or another. He flinched, then swallowed grimly. There was no way to help them from here. He had to get down, check if his Pokegear was working, and find out where they were.

Sora felt him wrap his injured arm around to reach her furry neck and with a running start, bounded off of the carriage. Maisy screamed near her ear, but Sora paid her no mind, landing on a thick branch and jumping to another. Ash tensed, keeping Maisy from falling with the weight of his good arm. The basket dangled, barely keeping from spilling open as Sora kept jumping, clambering down until the y reached the floor of the forest, kicking up dust.

Ash coughed and waited until Sora's breathing slowed a little and gingerly maneuvered himself to slip off of her back. Digging his walking stick into the ground, he forced himself to his knees, ignoring the pain in his left arm. "You all right there, Maisy?" he asked once he could breathe again, vision no longer blurry from adrenaline.

"Y-Yeah..." she croaked out, clinging to fresh air. "Your arm, let me take a look at it..."

"First aid supplies are in my bag," he said, breathing slowly. His body felt stiff and unwieldy, the weight heavy on his back all over again. Then he managed to straighten. Sora paced around them, circling the egg the most.

Maisy stared at the dripping blood for a moment before shaking herself and digging through the bag until she found the roll of bandages. She grimaced and tugged at his sleeve. Then, she took a cloth and began to wipe it clean. "It's gonna have to-to do until we get to the nearest city," she informed him, beginning to open the new roll of bandages. "Do you have disinfectant? It will have to do until we get to civilization. Speaking of which.. where are we?"

Ash used his free hand to fish into his bag pocket and pulled out his Pokegear. There was a small line on one corner of the screen but it turned on at the press of a button. He winced as Maisy began to wrap the bandage tightly around his arm. Ash quickly went to the map and a hologram burst from the small screen.

Maisy stopped for a moment to raise an eyebrow. "A projector in a Pokegear?"

Ash sighed. "My vision's crap."

She shrugged. "Fair enough." She finished the tie. "Which way."

He examined the map. "We're... hang on." He switched to the radio.

_"... ing news, the Magnet Train was hit by a sudden projectile and thrown off of the rails during a routine trip from Goldenrod to Saffron, crashing into the forest on the eastern outskirts of Mt Silver. Rescue teams are making their way to look for survivors around the site. The projectile went through the train carriage it struck... survivors are looking..."_

"Arceus," Maisy breathed. "We survived _that_."

"We should get out of here while we're still alive," Ash said with a grunt, once he took a cautious step forward. Then another. Once he was sure his legs could support him, he continued his wary trot. Maisy gave him a look of mild exasperation, noting the way a little blood trickled down through the bandages, before following him. Sora walked between them, fast and steady pads on the ground.

"Where are we even going?"

Ash looked up from the map. "Towards where a lot of the cars fell. That's where they will look the hardest for survivors. The crash site will be investigated as soon as there are people who can get over through the terrain, which is harder than it sounds. It's still daylight, so we've gotta get there asap."

"What about you?"

Ash shrugged. "We'll make our way through." He could feel faint twinges already, but it was probably more from the fall and the near-death experience. _You'd think one major one would be enough..._ "Come on! We aren't gonna be dumb and try hiking to _Viridian, _are you?"

Maisy snorted."Let's be careful then. No one's logged who lives in these woods. Or what. Could be some scary legends..."

"Someone's gonna log it after today, that's for sure," Ash grumbled, dodging a tree root. "Careful."

She nodded, following his lead. "I don't like how quiet it is."

"Neither do I."

Sora let out a soft cry and the woods echoed it and didn't answer.

* * *

In her rooms, a dark-haired woman blew out a match, watching the flames flicker on a candle. She sat back against her futon and stared up at the ceiling. She twitched two fingers and from the other side of the room, a white ball rolled for her to grasp. Then it flew into the air and dropped back down. The action repeated itself, until the woman grew bored, and let it roll to the floor, bringing the room to silence.

There was a knock at the door and the woman's eyes flickered open, glowing blue. The door slid to the right and a man dropped to his knees seconds after. "Ma'am, there was an accident near Mount Silver! The League Association is requesting the assistance of the psychic branch in locating survivors and-"

"I am aware," she interrupted, lip curling at the sight of the man's flinch. "Ready a crew. I will join you shortly."

"Ye-Yes ma'am!" His footsteps skittered away, leaving her almost alone.

From the other side of the room giggled a little girl. She vanished in a burst of blue sparks, leaving the ball to begin rolling to another corner. The woman threw her hair behind her back, a smile playing about her lips.

"So now," she said to the empty room. "Time for us to play."

Sabrina blew out the candle, and left.

* * *

Time passed and Maisy felt her legs beginning to tire. She rubbed sweat from her face and licked her lips. They had passed a small stream not long ago and each filled a bottle, but neither wanted to waste precious water. She watched Ash stop again, rubbing his legs with one hand. He would grin at her each time this happened, but the grin now looked clenched and pained.

At least his arm had stopped bleeding.

Sora plodded just ahead, stopping only when he did. This time, however unlike the last ones where she regarded him like an interesting meal, she nosed him towards a tree. "I'm fine," he protested, leaning a bit too heavily to the left.

"No, I need to stop too," Maisy said before Sora could get in his face, which it looked like she seemed to do, judging by that stormy look in her red eyes. "We should both stop, rest. Let our Pokemon out to find something small to eat."

Ash hesitated, then nodded, leaning back and slumping down against a tree. Mentally, Maisy breathed a sigh of relief. Her arms had hurt from carrying the egg. He had tried to take it from her, but after pointing at his arm, Ash had given up, looking somewhat sulky.

Honestly, _boys_. Maisy agreed with her mother, they were troublesome on a good day.

She went to sit beside him, looking at the egg thoughtfully. It wobbled a little, and she swore she saw a little crack in the shell, like there had been in the glass of the container. But that was all it did, and she sat back, letting it rest on the ground.

"I'm surprised you're not asking to really hold it," Ash said after he had released Vince to go sniffing around.

Maisy began sifting through and counting out the Apricorn Balls in the basket. Maybe half left. "I don't want to mess up your Pokemon's attachment to you. They can feel things through the egg and all."

Ash nodded. "I raised a Caterpie. Little Pokemon need families and all."

"So do people," Maisy muttered, curling up on the ground despite her own misgivings. She was _tired_!

Teddy's ball shook near her fingers and she gripped it gently.

"... We're gonna make it out of this, right Ash?"

She had no idea what propelled her to ask that. Maybe it was the drying wounds, the smell of the earth, or the utter silence in the air, or even the fact that she was so far from home. But it felt necessary to ask.

Ash didn't answer right away, the pause like the silence before her father took a cigarette out. "Well," he finally said. "I didn't go through years of therapy and studying and stuff to get stopped here, let's put it that way."

"Fair enough."

Ash laughed. "You're sure easy to please."

Maisy snorted. "Divorced parents, cantankerous grandfather, old-fashioned extended family, you learn to not ask for much unless you think you have to."

Ash laughed again. "I wouldn't know."

"Good, because swapping the same story with different characters is _boring._ Gossip is enough of that." She paused, raising her hand before he could speak. Footsteps were moving closer to them, soft but fast like paws. Maisy stiffened and sat up, suddenly aware that they had been talking at normal range in a forest and _nothing_ had come after them. That was... unusual.

Vince soon came back to them, tongue lolling out of his mouth from lack of air. When there was nothing else after him, she relaxed a little. The Vulpix, however, did not. He began to nose at Ash, trying to get him to move. Ash blinked in confusion, then groaned. "All right, all right..." When he didn't stretch fast enough, Vince headbutt him in the neck. "Ow!"

"Does he normally do that?" Maisy pushed herself up slowly to her feet, offering Ash the walking stick.

Ash took it, his eyes inscrutable for a second, before grinning as he forced himself to his feet. "Him? Mister Huffy-Tail? Nah. That's what makes this exciting."

Maisy rolled her eyes, brushing her black hair back into place. He _would _think this was exciting after nearly getting murdered from a train crash. Then she picked up the egg, only for Sora to pick her up herself, throwing her over to land on her back. "Ow!" she mumbled. "I have legs..."

"Humor her," Ash said dryly. "She's a sucker for kids. Why do you think she still follows me around?" Sora shot him a look and he laughed. "Sorry, _Mom_, but you know it's true." She huffed and pawed the incubator for Maisy to pick off, then began to trot away, following Vince. Ash walked slowly, looking around them. He could see bits of metal glimmering in the sunlight, flicked glass shards away with his walking stick. He had just guessed going towards where the other cars could have fallen was the easiest way to get spotted.

But a feeling began to well up in his chest. Dread. He knew dread, but he didn't know why.

It only got worse at the sight of a crater. There was a train car with a hole in it on one side. And a small creature quivered in the center of it.

"Why is there a _Mew _here?"


End file.
